Littlestuff Weekender-1-7-2012

This is the first “Weekender” of 2012. We’ll continue them until the Mayan calendar runs out…..or until the Obama Justice Department bans them….or until we are arrested on the streets of Bowling Green, Ohio, and whisked off to Guantanamo without benefit of charges or trial….or until I die from medicine shortages as a result of misguided laws and government intervention into the marketplace….or until I get “taken out” by an irate reader or listener.

My, oh my, the “Santorum effect” has certainly stirred things up in the GOP race for the presidential nomination. His strong finish in Iowa has changed the matrix for New Hampshire and South Carolina. Defining “winning” for any candidate who gets a minority of the vote will become increasing problematic as contenders drop out. Santorum’s meteoric rise does express a deep and abiding distrust of Romney’s bona fides as a conservative. I would argue that only one in the GOP field would satisfy my definition of a conservative---someone who is committed to conserving constitutional principles and individual liberty. While I find myself personally sympathetic to most social conservative positions, I do not trust the power of government to determine what are and are not acceptable social practices. Sharia Law (Google it) merges the social, religious and political realms under one banner. Even the most ardent Christian fundamentalist can recognize that Sharia is grossly unjust. Again, I do NOT want my government choosing my social behaviors. In the area of fiscal and economic policy none of the candidates except one has a plan for reducing the size and cost of government. Most of them trim around the margins without attacking the root cause…..government is too large, and the only concrete guide we have for defining the legitimate size of government is The Constitution of the United States. Any other formula or prescription relies on preferences and guesswork.

Generally I’m not a big TV fan, but today may be the exception: NFL playoffs, OSU men’s basketball plus OSU women’s basketball back to back on the Big Ten Network beginning at 3:00pm and the New Hampshire debate. Given my history of dedicated sports viewing, I’ll probably be asked to go to the mall or Elder Beerman’s for some nonsensical reason.

It’s early, but I’ll be back on the air on Friday January 13^th (yes, Friday the 13^th) sitting in for Brian Wilson from 3:00pm – 6:00pm on 1370 WSPD, Toledo.  www.wspd.com  We’ll have author Ted Lacksonen, Ohio Director of Americans for Prosperity, Katie Eagan, and Kalin Stipe, Libertarian candidate for the 9^th Congressional District.

You may have noticed if you’re a regular reader that I rarely (except for the Weekender) discuss the immediate goings-on in the news. There are two primary reasons for this:  Facts are stubborn things and I hesitate to spring into frothy condemnation without being totally comfortable with my position, and….I prefer to ruminate and consider things before addressing them. I know my writing sometimes appears rash and flamboyant but that is merely an indication that I have been operating under a full-boil mode for several days. So with this lengthy introduction…the February 18^th Weekender will include my very first blog post. You can read to see if I’ve grown or regressed over the past three years. Probably a little of both.

If I could have a staff of dozens to assist me, I could chronicle the daily destruction of our constitutional principles. The President openly defies his constitutional limitations and ignores his constitutional duties. The Congress brazenly passes unconstitutional laws in unconstitutional ways, some of them openly,…..others behind closed doors or buried in huge pieces of legislation. The federal bench, for the most part, appears to have decided that The Constitution of the United States is no longer relevant. It’s a scary development when a determined minority of the people support the supreme law of the land, and the ignorant remainder and the elites do not. When I consider the eventual outcome of this tension, it is difficult to imagine a rosy scenario.

Had several doctors’ appointments yesterday. They must think I’m going to live a little longer ‘cause I have appointments for 90 days and 6 months ahead. It looks like I won’t have to make any major alterations in the estate plan for now.

President Obama’s “recess” appointments of his new consumer protection Czar, Richard Cordray, and NLRB commissioners is a technical violation of the Constitution, and he has acted with casual disregard for the constitutional procedure. The response from the opposition is? Bellyaching, handwringing, moaning, groaning and business as usual. Clearly, the GOP caucus has only one “pair” among them, and Michele Bachmann took them with her to Iowa. If the GOP maintains control of the House, I nominate Bachmann for Speaker and Jim Jordan for Majority Leader. We might have a chance if this could happen.

Have a great remainder of the first full weekend of 2012. Light a fire, make some hot chocolate and popcorn, then read a good book.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

  

Arrogant Power, Angry People

In a republic leaders are sensitive to the desires and interests of the people but will not be stampeded by the mob. Democracy can be the mob. In an oligarchy the leaders fear the mob and ignore the wisdom and desires of the people. It is apparent why it is so difficult to maintain an effective and legitimate republic. The leaders are tempted by power and fearful of a populace that may become unruly and threatening. Because of their morbid fear of the people, the political leadership continually seeks to purchase the affection of their constituents by using the public treasury to purchase their goodwill. The political process is reduced to a series of transactions that have no basis in principle and no moral justification in reality. As a republic becomes more “democratic,” the buy/sell relationship between the political class and the governed reaches a fever pitch. This enhanced democratization is advanced by professional peoples’ representatives who undertake to advance the desires of clusters of constituencies. They interact freely with the political class and serve as ready conduits between the elected officials and the citizens. They are advocates. They are association or industry representatives. They are lobbyists.

Although the existence of lobbying as a necessity for advancing the concerns of various organized groups and policy advocates seems to distort the governing process, their presence is quite natural when a system morphs from a republic into a democracy. In a small democratic group each individual can make her or his voice heard over the din in the room. As the democratic universe grows larger and more removed from the citizens, it becomes vital for competing interests to gain access to the policy and law makers. While it is an obvious development, it does create an insular layer of unaccountability between the governed and their government. The lack of clear-cut responsibility yields a political class that has no personal stake in the consequences of their regulating and legislating. The most influential feedback they receive is from the lobbyists who may temper their concerns or disagreements in order to curry favor for the next issue that confronts their clients. Politicians, therefore, may assume that their actions and wisdom are infallible because there is very little clamoring discontent surrounding their decisions. They become arrogant….which is natural given the personality types that are attracted to stagecraft and self promotion. The political class begins to believe that it is entitled to rule because it knows best what is good for the nation and beneficial for the people. The system allows no one to get close enough to the would-be emperor to tell him or her that he or she is wearing no clothes.

For a time the people are contented with the greater democratization of their political process. They relish the opportunities to vote on issues large and small. Their sense of empowerment grows larger as they witness the various and numerous polls that test the temper of the people. They voluntarily join organizations and industry groups who share their views and goals. They sense that they may have an advantage over their lowly brethren who are not so actively engaged. Reality begins to ooze into the consciousness of the citizens as they begin to understand that the political system has become a never ending process of advantage/disadvantage. Just when a favorable rule or law is implemented that resolves their issue….a competing interest promotes another less favorable alternative. The stakes get higher with each round of favorable versus unfavorable governing and the citizen begins to detect that the process has spun out of control. He or she becomes uneasy and either becomes more active in the lobbying groups or totally withdraws from the dysfunctional process. The citizen begins to suspect that the essence of democracy is the ability to out maneuver the others who seek power and influence. The goal is to be a wolf and not a lamb when the dinner menu is discussed.

Because of the ratcheting demands of the various groups who see their power rise and fall, the various members of the constituent groups slowly begin to understand that the nation, its political class and its honor have all been corrupted. No one group is ever completely satisfied with its slice of the political pie and the slices tend to become increasingly smaller and less tasty. A sour and bitter sliver of a bloated impersonal polity does little to satisfy the gnawing hunger of unfulfilled dreams. Trading favors and buying votes are never permanent but are mere interludes until a better offer comes along. The discontented people discover others who share their views, and together they discuss new recipes for creating a better pie….large enough for all to share….tasty enough for all to enjoy. They meet, they study, they propose and they reject as they search for the ideal ingredients to create the perfect pie. And then……someone remembers that Grandma’s pie was the best they’d ever eaten. They found her recipe, and lo!, it worked.

Comment: cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Living, Liberty and Pursuing

Life is important. Without it we won’t get much done on this earth. As someone who believes that life is the gift from God, I must insist that my government treat life as the preeminent entitlement. After all every other entitlement conceived by the fertile minds of misguided men assumes that one must be alive to “enjoy” the benefits of government “goodness”…. which means that government forcibly takes from some people to redistribute to others. Life is different, however because the government need not rob life from one person to ensure the life of another. All that government must do is to acknowledge life, to honor it and to protect it. Aside from those three elements, the best thing that government can do to enrich our lives is to stay out of the way and allow us to live as we see fit.

Life without liberty or freedom becomes mere existence…a constant daily grind to survive and avoid the pain that accompanies the shackles of tyranny. To live life without liberty is similar to one who is trapped in a hospital while connected to a ventilator. The body is alive, but the spirit may be catatonic….or immobile. Living without laughter, loving or liberty is a cold proposition, and when one’s spirit is prevented from soaring and savoring the array of life that liberty offers, one turns cold and unresponsive. The loss of liberty deadens the soul, thus we can anecdotally conclude that our souls, our humanity can best be developed when we are free. If we are enslaved whether physically, emotionally or metaphorically, we lose our capacity to fully develop our potential. Without liberty we cannot pursue our dreams and goals. Without life and liberty, pursuit is fruitless.

Pursuing one’s potential can be an exhilarating endeavor. In some respects chasing a goal of any type can get one’s juices flowing. That is why competition is so highly valued, and competitive contests draw large audiences. When the rules are rigged, the competition loses its glamour. When the deck is stacked, the competitors become discouraged. The pursuit of happiness or fulfillment as our ancestors would define it is a natural inclination, but if the government or any other overbearing entity impedes or prevents one’s quest, the joy of the pursuit is dissipated. Following dreams and chasing ideas are natural functions of a free people. If individuals are denied their innate desire to achieve, their creative energies are sapped. Their inherent competitive instincts become muted, and their attempts to achieve become feeble and ineffectual. Government control of the individual’s yearning to build, to improve or to advance the human condition leads to a half-hearted, half-measured effort because the rules harm the competitor.

Freedom to live. Freedom to learn. Freedom to yearn and freedom to grow are not simple mindless statements. They reflect the very essence of who we are. I can recall when the Soviet Union was at its apex, and the people appeared to move around without protest and unresponsive to the abominations they were forced to endure. I could not fathom why nearly an entire nation would be so cowed and so compliant. Today I understand because after the Berlin Wall was dismantled only a small percentage of the Soviet citizens grasped their freedom with vigor and joy. For most of them, their reliance on the apparatus of the state had replaced their individuality. Their potential to enjoy the blessings of liberty had atrophied under the harsh direction of the government. They had lost their zest for the pursuit of happiness because their individual liberties were but distant memories and their lives were in the hands of their government.

Whereas the government should be morally obligated to protect and defend the lives of its citizens, the Soviet Communists insisted that individual lives be submerged for the good of the collective state. When the state is the dominant entity in the relationship with its constituents, the people’s spirit suffers and the state is weakened. When the individual life and the individual’s freedom are central to the existence of the state, the nation will flourish, the people will prosper and the pursuit of individual happiness will shower everyone in the country with blessings and bounty. When the human spirit, embedded with the spark from God, is allowed to shine, the sum of the parts (the people) is always greater than the whole (the country). Why is this so?  Because as the nation reaps the benefits of a creative energetic free citizenry, others will enhance and advance the benefits even further. Liberty when left alone has no limits. Life when lived in liberty has no barriers. To truly live life as our Creator intended is to enjoy the fruits of liberty while pursuing our individual fulfillment. For any government or other entity to deny their people the opportunity to thrive is a crime against Nature and Nature’s Author.

Comment: cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

The Greater Depression

My parents were of the generation that lived through “The Great Depression.” They could recall when the times were tough and supplies were meager. Fortunately they both were reared on Northwest Ohio farms with little or no mortgage, so food was plentiful. My father often remarked about how his family sold hogs for 6 cents per pound and were happy to have the small amount of cash for purchasing shoes for their family of 12 (Mother, Father, nine children and Grandmother). It was a difficult period for all of them, but the times made them stronger and embedded a preference for frugality and thrift that they never abandoned.

In the late 1920’s and the 1930’s United States was a prosperous and hard-working nation. People worked long hours on the farm, in the mill or at the store. Fringe benefits were generally non-existent, and nearly everything including medical care was transacted on a cash basis. Money was rare. Expendable income was rarer. For the most part they muddled through trying circumstances. There were some, however, who could not survive the devastating economic tsunami. Those who had high mortgages on their farms or their homes could not sustain the payments after being laid off or experiencing crop failure. Historians and statisticians have estimated that unemployment was as high as 25% during the greatest depths of the Depression, but because most households had only one wage-earner the effects of the high figure were great and the impact was monumental.

Back in the 1930’s and during the time of shortages through World War II in the early 40’s people had gardens and basic skills that enhanced their potential for “getting by.” Even the smallest home lots or rental units had a tiny plot for growing vegetables and herbs. Canning and preserving were the types of skills that had not yet been lost to the descendants of the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th Century American pioneers. There were no distracting Ipods or Blackberry’s to interfere with the daily task to put food on the table. If one were fortunate enough to have a job, there was little discontent about working unpaid overtime. The people were hardy and their wills were strong. They emerged from the Depression and the war scarred but strong…worthy representatives of their ancestors’ pioneering spirit.

Today is different from those dreadful times of 70 or 80 years ago. We are not as strong, not as skilled and certainly not as safe as our parents and grandparents were then. Our “real” unemployment rate of 16-17% is comparable to roughly a 11% household effect of the Depression era. In other words, the negative impact on our citizens, our society and our economy is less than half of that of the early times. Why…because the predominant majority of households prior to the War had but one wage earner and each uptick in the unemployment rate meant that several thousand households had lost their only source for income. Today is somewhat different. Two-adult units generally finds both of them employed so that an increase in unemployment may still leave one worker in the household. On the other hand there are legions of one-parent households wherein a loss of income could have devastating consequences. Bottom line: times have changed and so must we.

If we consider the possibility of our electrical power grid being compromised either through sabotage or government mismanagement and rulemaking, we may face some serious problems in our day-to-day lives. Just gaze around your home and consider how reliant you are on a steady supply of electrical power. Refrigerators, freezers and coolers would be effective for a very short time because of their insulated structures, and whatever your fuel source may be for your heating and cooling, it still probably contains an electrical component for starting or distributing the air. An even scarier scenario would involve an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack on our nation. Every aspect of our lives that includes an electronic component would be rendered inoperable. Cars wouldn’t start or run. Cell phones and computers would be worthless. The book, “One Second After,” by William R. Forstchen vividly describes the chaos that would envelope us if we faced something of this nature. While the book is a fictional account, it nonetheless relies on sound science to illustrate our vulnerability. One must also recognize that the nuclear capability for an EMP attack is available to a number of countries and groups throughout the globe, but the only constraint for them thus far is the launching capacity.

This piece wasn’t written to frighten you or to cause you to begin wearing tin-foil hats, but I do think that it is in our best interests to recapture some of the survival skills that our ancestors have developed. Without the basic infrastructure that we enjoy today we could find ourselves caught in a frenzy of anarchy which would make a very bad situation an intolerable one. Sound reasonable preparation need not be panic driven. It is prudent and sensible. If we do not learn the skills our grandparents practiced, we will be ill equipped to withstand disaster---whether natural or manmade. FEMA may not be sufficient or available. As an advocate of individual liberty, I fear that individual responsibility may be thrust upon us whether we desire it or not. The Scouts are right. Be prepared.

Comment: cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com